Problem: Kevin has 40 watermelons for every 35 apples. Write the ratio of watermelons to apples as a simplified fraction.
Ratios can be written in a few different ways that mean the same thing. You can express a ratio with a colon separating the two numbers. $40:35$ You can write it out as a phrase like this. $40 \text{ to } 35$ Or, you can express a ratio as a fraction. $\dfrac{40}{35}=\dfrac{8}{7}$ Therefore, $\dfrac{8}{7}$ is the ratio of watermelons to apples written as a simplified fraction.